Kentucky Country Music Museum

From a distance, this gas station looks a little like a blue castle tucked between a Wendy’s and a McDonald’s. It is a Kentucky County Music Museum, hidden inside an Exxon/Baskin Robbins located on Highway 23, also known as “County Music Highway.”

You might stop for gas on the outskirts of Lousia, Kentucky and not notice the two 10-foot-tall guitars outside, one painted for Townes Van Zandt, another with Hasil Adkins, whose home in Boone County, West Virginia is just over the state line on the other side of the river.

You might run inside to grab an Ale8 soda or ice cream and miss the signed Loretta Lynn guitar, signed Judd memorabilia, or sparkling Tammy Wynette dress. But if you look up and around you’ll see that the walls are filled with memorabilia. There was once a lock of Elvis’s hair from his army haircut on display.

On your way to the restrooms, check out the map of Kentucky music on the wall. You will see nearby birthplaces of country music stars including Loretta Lynn, her little sister Crystal Gayle, the Judds, Chris Stapleton, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tom T. Hall, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, and Patty Loveless.